Kaleidoscopic toy

ABSTRACT

A TOY USING THE PRINCIPLE OF THE KALEIDOSCOPE IN WHICH, IN ITS PREFERRED FORM, THERE IS A BASE MEMBER TO WHICH IS PIVOTALLY ATTACHED A V-SHAPED MEMBER, THE PIVOTS BEING ARRANGED AT THE SEPARATED ENDS OF SAID V-SHAPED MEMBER. THE APEX OF SAID MEMBER IS SUPPORTED ON A BOSS UPSTANDING FROM THE BASE MEMBER BUT CAN BE LIFTED UP FROM IT ABOUT SAID PIVOTS. A PLANE APERTURED MEMBER, SUITABLY A DISC, IS ENGAGED OVER SAID BOSS SO THAT IT IS ROTATABLE ABOUT IT. THE INNER SURFACES OF SAID V-SHAPED MEMBER ARE REFLECTING AND REFLECTIONS OF DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE PLANE MEMBER CAN BE OBSERVED AS IT IS ROTATED ABOUT THE BOSS.

, March '2, ,1971 I J. R. SPEAR KALEIDOSCOPIO TOY Filed Nov. 25. 1968 INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent 12,7 67 68 Int. Cl. G02b 27/08; A68h 33/22 US. Cl. 350-4 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A toy using the principle of the kaleidoscope in which, in its preferred form, there is a base member to which is pivotally attached a V-shaped member, the pivots being arranged at the separated ends of said V-shaped member. The apex of said member is supported on a boss upstanding from the base member but can be lifted up from it about said pivots. A plane apertured member, suitably a disc, is engaged over said boss so that it is rotatable about it. The inner surfaces of said V-shaped member are reflecting and reflections of different parts of the plane member can be observed as it is rotated about the boss.

This invention relates to toys.

According to the present invention a toy includes a base member having upstanding therefrom a pair of generally rectangular members meeting at an acute angle and mirrored on their inner surfaces and a plane member rotatable above the base member and immediately below the said rectangular members, the line along which the mirrors meet lying substantially at right angles to the plane member.

In a preferred construction the base member is provided with a generally cylindrical boss upstanding therefrom by at least the thickness of the plane member which is provided with a central aperture engageable with, for rotation about the boss, the lowermost corners of the mirrored members which meet on the said axis of rotation resting on the boss. The plane member is preferably a disc.

The boss may be partly cut away at its upper end to provide a countersunk region which the mirrored members may engage for support and exact positioning thereof.

In the same preferred construction the mirrored members are pivotally mounted on the base member adjacent the lowest corners of their remaining upstanding edges. The base member may thus be provided with a pair of upstanding apertured lugs which engage horizontally directed pins formed on the mirrored members. The pins may be provided on lugs extending from the mirrored portion of each of the said members. The mirrored members may then be connected or supported together adjacent the line along which they meet so that they can be tilted upwardly and forwardly on their pivotal mountings to allow easy removal and replacement of the plane member.

The base member, boss and upstanding lugs may be a single moulding of plastics material and the mirrored members may be made of plastics material with a reflecting coating deposited on one side. The plastics material may in each case be high impact polystyrene. The mirrored members may comprise polyvinyl chloride having a vacuum deposited aluminium surface on one side and a pressure sensitive adhesive on the other. Thus the mirrored members may be held by a single moulding of polystyrene, the moulding presenting a pair of rectangular inner surfaces meeting at an acute angle, to which surfaces are attached the two rectangular sheets of aluminium covered PVC by means of the pressure sensitive adhesive. The aluminium reflecting surface may be protected by a further coating of transparent material if desired. The polystyrene moulding can, of course, include the lugs and p1ns.

The rotatable disc is conveniently cardboard and may be provided with a pattern to which a segment of which is given a kaleidoscopic effect by the mirrored surfaces. The disc may be rotated with the result that the pattern view is ever changing. The discs may be blank so that children playing with the toy may apply their own designs with coloured crayons or by sticking shaped pieces of coloured paper onto a disc. Static or moving patterns can be watched.

The angle between the mirrored members is preferably a sub-multiple of 360 since the visible segment of the disc is then repeated an integral number of times in the reflections. Sixty degrees is found most suitable for providing a sufiicient number (five) of reflections whilst permitting easy vision.

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toy constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a detail of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the detail shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a part sectional view of the mirrored members as seen in the direction AA of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 shows a circular card as partly illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, a toy has a moulded high impact polystyrene base member 1 with one end shaped on a radius from a central moulded boss 2. This boss is generally cylindrical but is cut away to provide a countersunk region 3 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The countersunk region 3 faces towards the front edge 4 of the base member 1 and extends backwards by an amount a as shown in FIG, 3. The boss is typically of 0.25" diameter and the countersunk region is defined by a radius of about 0-165" from the forward end of a diameter of the boss. This radius is shown in FIG. 3 by dimension R. Over the boss is fitted a circular disc 5 provided with a central aperture also substantially of 0.25" diameter. The thickness of the disc is 0.03" which is slightly less than the height of the countersunk region 3 above the plane of the base member 1.

Also moulded together with the base member 1 is a pair of lugs 6 formed parallel to the side edges of the base member. The lugs are each provided with an aperture 7 of about diameter and centred about A above the surface of the base member.

The toy also includes two rectangular parts 8 and 9 which are angled at 60. These parts include a single moulding 10 (see FIG. 4) of high impact polystyrene which is provided at its two forward lower edges with lugs 11 and 12. The lugs have horizontally directed pins 13 of about Ms" diameter and which engage the apertures 7 in lugs 6 so that the moulding 10 can pivot about the line of the pins. The lower back corner of the moulding 10 fits into the countersunk region 3 of boss 2' so that the disc 5- can rotate beneath it.

The moulding '10 is in the form of a frame having no border along its lower edges. The upper border 14 which continues down the front vertical edges defines the moulding as having a main portion to which mirrored members can be attached, these being shown by sectioned portions 15 in FIG. 4. The non-section part of FIG. 4 shows the frame border 14 overlying the mirrored members 15. Each mirrored member comprises a separate rectangle of PVC to the back surface of which has been applied a pressure sensitive adhesive so that it can be attached to the moulding 10 and to the front face of which has been applied a vacuum deposited aluminium covering to provide the reflecting surface. The aluminium in its turn may be protected by a thin layer of transparent material such as a transparent polyester resin. The back surface of the moulding is radiused so that its bottom corner will fit snugly into the countersunk region 3 of the boss 2. The members meet along a line and the point 16 (see FIG. 4) at which the reflecting surfaces meet should ideally be arranged that it coincide with the central axis of the boss 2 and hence the rotatable disc 5. Thus the dimension x on FIG. 4 should, in the case when it is desired to have the axis of the boss 2 in line with the edges of the mirrors, be equal to dimension a 011 FIG. 3.

When it is required to play with the toy the moulding 10 containing the mirrored members 15 is swung upwards and forwardly about the pins -13 on lugs 11 and 12. A disc 5 may then be placed over the boss 2 and the mirror returned to its normal position. In FIG. 1, the disc is shown with a pattern, one segment of which is reflected by the members 15 to produce 5 symmetrical images shown in dotted line. If the disc is now rotated by hand, it will be found that even with a simple design a large number of changing images are seen during rotation. A coloured design can produce very pleasing patterns especially during rotation of the disc 5. If the dimension x does not equal dimension a, a further variable will be introduced on rotation of the disc 5 and such an arrangement is quite suitable if desired.

In order to aid rotation of the disc, it should either be made with a slightly greater radius than the rear portion of the base member 1 or the latter should be produced with a slight indentation in its side to give easy access to the thickness of the card by the thumb or finger.

FIG. 5 shows the pattern on card 2 andit will be seen that the effect of reflecting a single segment only (FIG. 1) is to produce a pattern differing widely from that on the whole card. A comparison of FIGS. 1 and 5 gives some idea of the infinite pattern which may be obtained when the card is rotated.

It will be appreciated that the toy described in accordance with the invention has considerable value as an educational pastime for small children who are encouraged to develop their imagination in design and colour by giving them coloured crayons and blank discs. Moreover their critical senses can be aroused by comparing their own designs with those already provided.

There is no need for the rotatable card to be a disc. It is of course possible to have any shape of card rotatable about a central aperture. A non-circular card has the advantage, in fact, that its reflected outline varies to form part of the changing pattern.

It will be appreciated that the toy described with reference to the drawing has many advantages over the traditional kaleidoscopes and other known similar arrangements. Firstly it is extremely simple with the mirrored members tilting forward to allow replacement of the disc. This permits any number of different patterns to be used.

At the same time the mode of construction reduces the. form to a simple and economic arrangement. The mirrored members and the moulded plastics components are cheap to manufacture in quantity and thecards can very I claim:

1. A toy including in combination:

(a) a substantially planar base member;

(b) an upstanding boss provided on said base member;

(c) a first pair of spaced apart upstanding lugs provided on said base member;

. (d) a plane member provided with a central aperture which engages over for rotation about said boss said plane member having an upper surface upon which has been applied a pattern;

(e) a generally V-shaped member of moulded plastics material, the apex of said V-shaped member resting on said boss and said V-shaped member having rectangular sides upstanding from said base member above said plane member;

(f) a second pair of spaced apart lugs provided on the lower edges of said V-shaped member;

(g) a pair of pins extending respectively between the members of the first and second pairs of lugs for providing pivotal connection between said V-shaped member and said base member; and

(h) a pair of rectangular mirrors each comprising a rectangle of plastics material having a reflecting layer on one side, an opposite side of the rectangle being adhered to an inwardly facing surface of said V- shaped member.

2. A toy including in combination:

(a) a substantially planar base member;

(b) a pair of fiat members upstanding from said base member and meeting at an acute angle, said members having reflecting surfaces facing inwardly with respect to each other;

(c) a plane member rotatable above said base member and immediately below said flat members, a line along which said flat members meet lying substantially at right angles to said plane member; and

(d) a cylindrical boss upstanding from said base member by at least the thickness of the plane member and being formed at its upper end with a countersunk surface, said plane member being provided with a central aperture engageable with said boss and said flat members being supported away from said base member by said countersunk surface adjacent the region where said flat members meet.

3. A toy according to claim 2, in which each of said [flat members has an edge remote from the line at which they meet and upstanding from said base member, the lowermost portions of said edges being nearest said base member and being pivotally mounted with respect to said base member.

4. A toy according to claim 3, in which said base member is provided with a pair of upstanding lugs which cooperate by means of horizontally directed pins with said lowermost edge portions to provide said pivotal mountings.

5. A toy according to claim 4, in which said pins are provided on a further pair of lugs provided adjacent said lowermost edge portions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS LOUIS R. PRINCE, Primary Examiner H. C. POST III, Assistant Examiner 

